Perfection in Imperfection
by Allen Blaster
Summary: Life had many imperfections in it, but at that moment, Raphtalia couldn't think of how it could be more perfect. Raphfumi pregnancy one-shot. Collaboration with, and cover art done by the awesome MaLockser.


**This is just a cute little one-shot I worked on together with MaLockser of Tumblr. The cover image for this little piece came into my mind about a month ago, and I told MaLockser about it. She brought it to life in such an awesome way! If there's anyone you should thank for this, it's her. She's super awesome and super talented with her art! I'm grateful that we got to work on such a wonderful thing together! I hope you all enjoy the one-shot and the cover art!**

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**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own anything related to The Rising of The Shield Hero._

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Raphtalia heaved a sigh of exhaustion and sat down on the soft white padded stool she'd placed in the center of the room. Her tail trailed lazily on the ground behind her. Her back ached, her bladder felt like the size of a pea, her legs hurt from carrying all the extra weight, her feet were swollen, her butt was sore, and it felt like her skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat; she was smiling.

She couldn't think of a time when she'd been happier in her entire life.

Raphtalia rubbed her bulging tummy. She was wearing a red maternity dress since she couldn't fit into any of her old clothes or armor due to the life growing inside her. The slave cuffs she wore before were gone, replaced with an accessory she wore on one of her wrists. An accessory Naofumi had made for her years ago. "Mommy just needs a few moments to rest. Is that okay, little one?" She softly asked.

She felt her baby inside stir a little at her words. But other than that, she got nothing else from her unborn daughter. Raphtalia sighed in relief. _'Thank goodness.'_

Around her was a state of chaos being turned into a nursery. In one corner was a medieval-style crib that still needed to be assembled. On the inside wall of the room, she'd managed to cover half the wall in a coat of fresh green paint before needing to take a break. In the other corner by one of the room's three windows was a rocking chair. It had several gifts on and around it. Gifts full of baby clothes and supplies she needed to pull out and organize.

Out of sight, a pile of gifts she'd received from friends and more than a few supporters of the Shield Hero laid against the other corner. Baby toys (made by Erhard), children's books (from Melty), a small wooden sword (bless Eclair, but sometimes that woman wanted to start training people a little too early in life) and other gifts.

Her favorite gift was on the pile of gifts on the rocking chair. Lit by the light of the afternoon sun outside. It was a miniature fluffy stuffed version of her husband's Legendary Shield in its default form. Even if he kept it in bracelet form nowadays with the threat of the waves being over, she still loved it. Whoever had made it had gotten it down to the littlest detail, and made the outside out of soft warm fur. If her body wasn't aching so much from painting, she would have crawled over, picked it up and cuddled with it on the ground. Thinking back to those times when that Shield had protected her and everyone else from the Waves of Catastrophe.

...

_'Maybe I could…'_ She moved to get up but then fell back down onto the stool. Her legs had given out in protest. The small jostle caused her unborn baby to squirm around in complaint. Raphtalia sighed. _'I guess not.'_

Still, it felt nice to sit on this stool. To stare around at the slowly transforming room. The room of her home in Rock Valley. A room that held the future for her unborn daughter. A room in the house her parents had lived in. The house that she'd rebuilt alongside her husband in the time of the waves when she wondered if he'd ever come to realize how much she really cared for him…

Raphtalia continued to smile while rubbing her swollen belly with her hands. Somehow, in some way, things had worked out. The waves were over. She had gotten happily married to the man she loved. She was carrying their child. A daughter according to the magic the village's midwife had used to identify their baby's gender. Above all, she was happy. She didn't know if she could be any happier with her current situation.

...

"Mmm…"

A pair of warm arms wrapped around her from behind and a face nuzzled up next to her over her left shoulder. Raphtalia sighed contentedly while she instinctively relaxed back into her husband, who was down on his knees behind her. He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts and wore a silver band with a green gem in the center of it on his left wrist.

She could be happier, it turned out. "I thought you were busy with your duties of Lord today Naofumi?" She asked curiously.

"I was. Then Eclair promised me she'd handle the rest of my duties for today." Naofumi answered contentedly. His voice had lost some of its rough edge towards other people over the years. And it almost never appeared when he was around her.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave Eclair in charge?" Raphtalia asked, a note of teasing in her voice. "After what happened the last time?"

"Are you saying you don't want me here?" Naofumi asked, a note of teasing in his own voice. Eclair wasn't as bad at filling in the role of governor anymore. But sometimes, a bit of her naiveness with how the world was supposed to work would show through.

"No. I just don't want you throwing your responsibilities on other people to become a daily occurrence." She answered lightly. A small embarrassed blush was forming on her face.

"It's fine. Eclair volunteered herself so I could help you with the nursery. And Melty promised she'd make sure Eclair wouldn't do anything drastic." He said.

"But you're not helping. You're cuddling with me." She said, having to hold back an amused giggle.

"Is loving you not help enough?" Naofumi asked, again teasing her. It brought a greater warm flush to Raphtalia's face, and he chuckled as he continued to hold her. His hands moving over her bulge, waiting to feel his unborn daughter kick against his hands.

Silence reigned between the two for a while. And Raphtalia and Naofumi were okay with that. With how busy and hectic their lives were, Naofumi being the Lord of Seaetto, and Raphtalia preparing for the arrival of their first child, they appreciated these little moments. When they could be alone, and simply cuddle with each other. All chores and duties are forgotten. No words needed or spoken. Especially since Raphtalia had gotten good at reading what was on her husband's mind anyways.

Raphtalia's hands moved over her husband's. Guiding them lower to where their child had started to lightly kick. She could feel the smile that came onto Naofumi's face without having to look. _'He really does love and care for us…'_

Raphtalia felt tears entering her eyes, thinking about it all. Ever since she'd lost her parents, she'd wondered what purpose she had in life. She had failed in trying to rebuild her village at first. She had failed in trying to keep her best friend Rifana alive. She had failed to protect her people from being enslaved, abused, or killed. She had failed in so many things. Yet this man, this hero, had given her a new purpose time and time again. Whenever she felt like she was a failure, he was there to lift her up. Whenever she felt like she was useless, he was there to remind her how valuable she was.

And here, he had given her another purpose she had never dreamed of having. Of having a family once more. Of being a mother. Of having him as her husband. Of working together to raise their daughter. Life had many imperfections in it, but at that moment, Raphtalia couldn't think of how it could be more perfect. And that brought more tears to her eyes.

"Is something wrong Raphtalia?"

Rapthalia turned her head to look at Naofumi. He was looking at her in concern. She hadn't realized it, but a few of her tears had escaped while she was lost in thought. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just… so happy." She said, her voice almost breaking at the end.

Naofumi leaned his head in and gently kissed her. Raphtalia gratefully returned it. One of her hands clasped his on her belly, and her tail started to wag fiercely behind her. Hitting Naofumi's legs again and again. More happy tears trailed down her face.

Yes, now she couldn't be any happier.

...

After a moment, Naofumi pulled away but continued to look her in the eyes. He had tears of his own in the corners of them. "I'm happy too." He admitted.

Raphtalia continued to smile, and he smiled back. He finally got up and gave her a head pat. Even though it had been years since she was a kid, she still loved receiving head pats from him. "You can continue sitting. I'm going to work on putting that crib together before I paint." He said.

"Are you sure you don't want my help with the crib?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi chuckled. "Come on, with my crafting skills, it'd have to be one complicated crib to keep me from building it." He said in a relaxed tone. "And you've been on your legs all day working on this room. The least I can do is allow you to rest."

Raphtalia continued to sit and smile. "Okay."

Naofumi started to walk towards the crib, and then looked back at her. "Is there anything you need before I start working?" He asked.

… Raphtalia looked to the corner where the stuffed shield was. Naofumi followed her line of sight and started to chuckle. "You always did love the shield more than I did."

Raphtalia looked away bashfully. "Well, that Shield did save my life plenty of times Naofumi… it'd be hard not to love it..."

Naofumi grabbed the stuffed rendition of his Shield off the pile of gifts. Then he walked back over to Raphtalia and gave it to her. Giving her an extra peck to her forehead as he did so. "And I'm glad you do." He whispered.

Raphtalia looked up at him, then down at the Shield. She picked it up off her lap and started to cuddle with it. It was just as soft as she'd imagined. "Thank you." She whispered back.

Naofumi smiled at her before walking towards the crib. Raphtalia looked down at her belly as Naofumi got to work on trying to put together the crib. Cuddling the shield close to her chest. _'Little one. Even though I haven't seen your face yet, I love you so much. And I know that daddy does too.'_

She received a light kick in response. And Raphtalia continued to smile…

...

Grunting sounds started coming from Naofumi. It looked like he was struggling with putting the crib together, despite his high crafting skills. What should have been a crib now looked like… something from out of a nightmare. "No, I thought this piece was supposed to go here. Why the hell does it look like that-"

At that moment, it fell apart. "DAMN IT!" His frustration with the gamelike mechanics not helping him to assemble a simple medieval style baby crib blew over. "How the hell can I make Yggdrasil medicine (the highest tier of medicine in that world), and struggle with making a stupid damn crib!?" He yelled at the pile angrily.

Raphtalia sweatdropped where she was sitting, and giggled into the stuffed shield. _'Even if he does still lose his temper over the littlest things.'_ Which, if she was being honest, she found it adorable.

"Damn it all!"

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**Aw man, I couldn't resist adding that trope to the end! The bane of every new Father's existence. Being tasked with the assembly of the baby crib. XD**

**Hope you all enjoyed it! If you want to look at the full cover art image, or if you want to see more of MaLockser's art, just search up AnimeTopArts on Tumblr! I hope you all have a good rest of your week!**

**Till Next Time**

**Allen**


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